Housing Benefit

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate he has made of the number of local authority tenants in England and Wales who will be affected by his proposed changes to housing benefit.

Steve Webb: DWP estimate that the number of social rented sector tenants (which includes both local authority and housing association tenants) in England and Wales that will be affected by the under occupancy measure will be 580,000.

Food Banks

Luciana Berger: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 30 January 2013, Official Report, column 900, whether he has since visited his local foodbank.

David Cameron: I visited a local food bank on 9 February 2013 and will visit another food bank in the near future.

Apprentices

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many apprenticeships have lasted for (a) up to six, (b) six to 12 and (c) over 12 months.

Matthew Hancock: Table 1 shows apprenticeship achievements (adjusted) by duration for the 2011/12 academic year, the latest year for which full year data are available.
	Care should be taken when interpreting apprenticeship durations as they are dependent on the mix of apprenticeship levels and frameworks, and the prior attainment of learners (some will already have completed parts of the apprenticeship). The adjusted measure is intended to exclude those apprentices with some prior attainment.
	From August 2012, Ministers have decided that an apprenticeship must last at least 12 months for under 19s and for adults as well unless prior learning is recorded and funding reduced accordingly. This is to ensure that every apprenticeship involves sufficient new learning and opportunities to embed new skills.
	
		
			 Table 1: Apprenticeship achievements (adjusted) by duration, 2011/12 
			 Number of months Achievements (adjusted) 
			 Up to 6 months 25,310 
			 6 to 12 months 109,390 
			 Over 12 months 93,010 
			 Total 227,700 
			 Notes: 1. All figures are rounded to the nearest 10, except for the total, which is rounded to the nearest 100. 2. Apprenticeship achievements by duration (adjusted) are based on the actual end date of the apprenticeship as recorded in the ILR; it only includes those achievements within the academic year that were fully funded. Source: Individualised Learner Record

Apprentices: South Yorkshire

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many apprenticeships have been created in each month since May 2010 in (a) Barnsley Central constituency, (b) Barnsley local education authority and (c) South Yorkshire for people aged (i) between 16 and 24, (ii) between 25 and 49 and (iii) over 50.

Matthew Hancock: Table 1 shows apprenticeship programme starts in Barnsley Central constituency, Barnsley local education authority and Yorkshire and the Humber region by age and quarter for 2009/10 to 2011/12 academic years, the latest year for which final data is available.
	We publish apprenticeship starts at the quarterly level, therefore data for each month is not presented.
	We publish apprenticeship data at the region, local education authority and parliamentary constituency levels of geography, therefore data for South Yorkshire is not presented.
	
		
			 Table 1: Apprenticeship programme starts by geography, age and quarter, 2009/10 to 2011/12 
			  2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 
			  Quarter 4 Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Quarter 3 Quarter 4 Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Quarter 3 Quarter 4 
			 Barnsley Central constituency          
			 16-24 150 240 110 120 150 280 130 130 180 
			 25-49 30 70 90 110 120 150 120 130 130 
			 50+ — 10 10 20 20 20 20 20 20 
			 All age 180 320 210 250 280 440 270 280 320 
			           
			 Barnsley local education authority          
			 16-24 380 650 310 310 390 700 310 380 460 
			 25-49 90 160 230 270 310 360 330 340 340 
			 50+ 10 30 40 50 50 60 50 60 50 
			 All age 480 840 570 630 750 1,130 700 780 860 
			           
			 Yorkshire and the Humber region          
			 16-24 6,820 11,880 5,980 7,510 8,270 13,950 6,610 8,640 8,420 
			 25-49 1,400 3,080 4,030 5,340 6,220 5,700 4,970 5,500 6,510 
			 50+ 170 520 850 1,020 1,120 1,020 870 930 1,080 
			 All age 8,390 15,480 10,850 13,870 15,610 20,670 12,460 15,070 16,000 
			 Notes: 1. All figures are rounded to the nearest 10."—" indicates a base value of less than 5. 2. Age is based on age at the start of the programme. A small number of learners aged under 16 are included in the 16-24 age category. 3. Geographic breakdowns are based upon the home postcode of the learner. 4. Figures are based on the geographic boundaries as of May 2010. 5. Figures for 2011/12 onwards are not directly comparable to earlier years as a Single Individualised Learner Record (ILR) data collection system has been introduced. Small technical changes have been made in the way learners from more than one provision type are counted, leading to a removal of duplicate learners and a reduction in overall learner numbers of approximately 2%. More information on the Single ILR is available at: http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/C05DCDD5-67EE-4AD0-88B9-BEBC8F7F3300/0/SILR_Effects_SFR_Learners_June12.pdf Source: Individualised Learner Record.

Business: Franchises

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking (a) to recognise the risks involved in taking on a business franchise and (b) to ensure that business franchises are protected from unscrupulous franchisors.

Michael Fallon: It is important that all those going into business think carefully about the legal form they take, such as whether to trade as a limited liability company, sole trader or partnership, and the business opportunities presented to them. Taking on a franchise as a type of business can offer both advantages and disadvantages for franchisees and it is particularly important that would-be franchisees think very carefully about the proposition being offered, the commitment required and the risks involved.
	Although no specific provision is made for franchisees, current business regulations, and voluntary codes of practice, offer a variety of protections to both franchisee and franchisor. The British Franchise Association (BFA) provides a range of advice on franchising at its web-site
	http://www.thebfa.org
	and trade associations such as the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB)
	http://www.fsb.org.uk/
	may be able to assist the small business/franchise owner.
	Franchising is an important contributor to the UK economy with some 600,000 people employed in the industry, generating an estimated annual turnover of some £13.4 billion. As a business format, a new franchisee is six to seven times more likely to succeed than a non-franchise start-up and profitability rates have remained consistent, at around 90%, throughout the recession.
	Buying a franchise and entering into a franchise agreement is a business undertaking and it is important that it is seen as such and that independent advice is sought if that seems necessary. The BFA recommends that anyone considering a franchise should carry out full due diligence before signing any agreement and the services of an accredited franchise solicitor should be used to review the franchise agreement. A number of expert advisors and franchise companies choose to be judged by the BFA standards, which have the European Code of Ethics for Franchising as their foundation. Only those that can successfully reach the BFA's standards can be recognised by the BFA, which acts as an additional guidance for potential franchisees.
	In addition to advice from the BFA and trade associations such as the FSB, the Business Link helpline provides a quick response service to people and businesses based in England with simple questions about starting or running a business. It also provides a more in-depth service for those with more complex inquiries. Its website is
	https://www.gov.uk/business-support-helpline
	and the telephone helpline is on 0845 600 9006, available Monday to Friday, 9 am to 6 pm. In Scotland the contact is Business Gateway at
	http://www.business.scotland.gov.uk

Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the comments by Professor Ian Hargreaves on the repeal of section 52 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 in his publication Digital Opportunity: a review of intellectual property and economic growth, whether he has received representations from Professor Hargreaves on this matter.

Jo Swinson: The Government has not received representations from Professor Hargreaves on the repeal of section 52 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Employment: Females

Guy Opperman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of women in the workplace.

Jo Swinson: The Government is committed to building a stronger and more inclusive economy which draws on the talents of both women and men. BIS is playing a central role in helping women to enter, remain and progress in the workplace.
	The new system of shared parental leave will support women's participation in the workforce by giving parents the choice of equal access to paid parental leave in the first year of their child's life. The changes will encourage both parents to take an active caring role, and help both parents retain their attachment to the workplace by allowing them to agree a pattern of leave that works for them and their employers. Changing the behaviour of employers and employees will ensure that there is no longer an expectation that only mothers can care for the baby when born.
	The National Careers Service offers independent, impartial, professional advice and guidance to encourage individuals to consider the full range of opportunities open to them. In depth, face-to-face guidance is targeted on those who need it most, including women returners.
	We are extending the right to request flexible working to all employees, which will benefit all individuals who need to create a better balance between their personal and work life. BIS is also working to encourage cultural change, especially to encourage employers to think about the business benefits of flexible working when they recruit new employees. An employer group led by Working Families will make practical recommendations to business on how flexible working can be beneficial and how it can be built into employers' recruitment practices.
	We are committed to seeing more women on the boards of the UK's top companies, as well-balanced boards bring fresh perspectives, talent, new ideas and broader experience which leads to better decision-making and higher productivity. The UK has taken a voluntary business-led approach which will deliver sustainable long-term change. Results are already being seen: in the past two and a half years the number of FTSE 100 all-male boards has fallen to seven, from a starting point of 21. On 29 January the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable) wrote to the boards of the remaining seven, outlining the benefits of diversity in the boardroom and reminding them of Lord Davies' recommendation of aiming for a minimum 25% female representation on their boards by 2015.
	The Department contributes to the work of the Women's Business Council, which was set up to make recommendations on how Government, business and others could maximise women's contribution to economic growth and improve the business environment for women, to maximise profit and success. We also support the “Think, Act, Report” initiative (bit.ly/UECXVK), launched in September 2011 to improve transparency and help companies think about gender equality in their workforces, on key issues such as recruitment, retention, promotion and pay.
	These and a range of other Government measures, such as incentivising work by raising the tax threshold so that low-paid women pay less tax, have contributed to the fact that the number of women in work is higher than at any time in UK history.

Departmental Responsibilities

Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his Department's core statutory obligations are; and what estimate he has of the annual cost of delivering each such obligation.

Sajid Javid: HM Treasury's core statutory obligations are to ensure that public sector net borrowing and debt are reduced between 2011 and 2016 in line with the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2010; to monitor and updating the Charter for Budget Responsibility under the Budget Responsibility and National Audit Act 2011; to report to Parliament where required under various statutes authorising specific government spending (for example the Infrastructure (Financial Assistance) Act 2012). In addition to these the Treasury has miscellaneous statutory obligations under legislation governing financial services, financial sanctions and government finances.
	The Treasury's accounting system does not hold financial data by statutory obligation and such information could not be provided within the disproportionate costs threshold. Information on outturn and spending plans for the Treasury are shown in the Department's Annual Report and Accounts for 2011-12 (HC 46) and the Business Plan for the period 2012-15, both of which are available at:
	www.hm-treasury.gov.uk
	The 2012-13 Annual Report and Accounts will be published later in the year.

EU External Trade

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost to the Exchequer of potential legal action from third parties against Government policy under any Investor State Dispute Settlement clauses that are included in future EU trade agreements; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Fallon: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	The EU has not yet concluded any agreements with Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) clauses. Potential costs to the UK from any third party claims under new EU agreements cannot easily be estimated: they will depend on the party with which the agreement is signed, the specific detail of the ISDS clauses in that agreement and the nature of future Government policy towards investors. The UK Government is, however, mindful of the risks associated with ISDS clauses. We are pushing for agreements that strike the right balance between protecting EU-based businesses' investments abroad and protecting Governments' right to regulate in the public interest.

Taxation: Energy

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will introduce energy tax exemptions to protect the long-term competitiveness of the UK's energy-intensive industries.

Sajid Javid: Government has already taken action to ensure the UK's energy-intensive industries remain competitive. From this year, the Government is implementing measures worth around £250 million over the spending review period to reduce the impact of policy on the costs of electricity for the most electricity-intensive industries. This includes an increase in the level of relief from the climate change levy on electricity for Climate Change Agreement participants from 65% to 90% and a compensation package to help offset the cost of reducing carbon emissions. As set out in the Energy Bill, energy-intensive industries will also be exempted from the costs of Contracts for Difference under Electricity Market Reform, subject to consultation and state aid clearance.

Adoption: Merseyside

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children (a) were placed for adoption, (b) were adopted and (c) started to be looked after due to the breakdown of an adoptive family in (i) Liverpool, Walton constituency, (ii) Liverpool and (iii) Merseyside in each year since 1997.

Edward Timpson: holding answer 7 February 2013
	Information on the number of looked after children who were (a) placed for adoption and (b) adopted for the years ending 31 March 1997 to 2012 is shown in the tables. Information at constituency level is not available.
	Information on the number of children who started to be looked after following the breakdown of an adoptive family is not currently available. Information on children who return to care following the breakdown of a previous adoption will be collected for the first time in 2014.
	
		
			 Children looked after at 31 March who were (a) placed for adoption at 31 March or (b) adopted during the year ending 31 March(1,2) 
			 Years ending: 31 March 1997 to 2012 
			 Coverage: Liverpool local authority, Merseyside and England 
			 Number 
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 
			 All looked after children who were placed for adoption at 31 March(1,2)         
			 Liverpool local authority 15 20 25 45 65 70 55 60 
			 Merseyside(3) 50 80 90 120 170 170 140 140 
			 England 2,390 2,420 2,990 3,620 4,070 4,270 3,790 3,610 
			          
			 All looked after children who were adopted during the year ending 31 March(1,2)         
			 Liverpool local authority 20 15 10 30 20 35 65 55 
			 Merseyside(3) 50 50 40 70 70 100 130 140 
			 England 1,850 2,190 2,060 2,710 3,070 3,430 3,540 3,760 
		
	
	
		
			 Number 
			  2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 All looked after children who were placed for adoption at 31 March(1,2)         
			 Liverpool local authority 25 20 25 40 25 25 40 35 
			 Merseyside(3) 100 70 60 120 80 70 90 80 
			 England 3,440 3,020 2,710 2,860 2,680 2,510 2,710 2,680 
			          
			 All looked after children who were adopted during the year ending 31 March(1,2)         
			 Liverpool local authority 70 30 20 35 45 40 35 50 
			 Merseyside(3) 140 130 80 90 130 110 100 120 
			 England 3,770 3,700 3,330 3,180 3,330 3,200 3,090 3,450 
			 ‘x’ Figures not shown in order to protect confidentiality. (1) Numbers at local authority level have been rounded to the nearest 5. England and region level figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. (2) Historical data may differ from older publications. This is mainly due to the implementation of amendments and corrections sent by some local authorities after the publication date of previous materials. (3) Merseyside consists of Knowsley, Liverpool, St Helens, Sefton and Wirral local authorities.

Alternative Education

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what percentage of pupils in each alternative provision setting were classified as persistent absentees in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 11 February 2013
	Absence data for PRUs were first collected at pupil level for the 2009/10 school year. To provide specific data at PRU level would require a substantial amount of analysis and quality assurance and this would incur disproportionate cost.

Children: Day Care

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what information his Department holds on the number of hours of (a) formal and (b) informal child care an average child receives each week in (i) Hounslow, (ii) London, (ii) each region and (iv) the UK.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 31 January 2013
	The Department's Childcare and Early Years Survey of Parents is the main source of estimates on this topic. The following table provides estimates of the use of child care during a term time reference week in England and the English regions. Estimates for the UK or at local authority level are not available. The figures relate to 2010. The survey was published on 31 January 2013.
	
		
			 Mean and median hours of child care used by parents of children aged 0 to 14 during a term time reference week by English region 2010 
			  Any child care Formal child care Informal child care 
			  Median hours Mean hours Median hours Mean hours Median hours Mean hours 
			 England 8.3 14.1 6.0 11.6 6.0 11.7 
			 London 9.0 14.8 8.3 13.4 5.5 12.7 
			 North East 10.0 16.2 6.0 11.8 7.7 12.8 
			 North West 9.0 14.6 7.5 12.9 6.0 10.7 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 11.0 15.9 5.5 11.5 8.0 14.1 
			 East Midlands 8.8 13.6 7.4 13.2 7.0 9.3 
			 West Midlands 9.0 15.2 7.6 13.3 6.0 11.5 
			 East of England 6.0 11.8 4.0 8.9 5.0 9.9 
			 South East 7.0 13.0 5.0 10.7 5.8 11.5 
			 South West 7.5 13.3 5.0 9.5 7.0 12.6 
			 Source: Childcare and Early Years Survey of Parents, 2010

Children's Centres: Liverpool

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the quality of provision in each Sure Start centre in Liverpool; and which facilities in Liverpool offer Sure Start provision.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 7 February 2013
	Liverpool city council's entry to the Sure Start-On database shows that Liverpool currently has 17 Sure Start Children's Centres. To date, Ofsted has inspected 10 of them. Of the 10, one was judged to be outstanding, eight were judged to be good and one was judged to be satisfactory.

Correspondence

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what instructions he has issued to his private ministerial office on the preparation of briefing, speeches and replies to official correspondence.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 11 February 2013
	The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), has not issued any instructions to his Private Office regarding the preparation of briefing, speeches and replies to official correspondence.

Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press Inquiry

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education with reference to paragraph 83 of the summary of recommendations in Lord Justice Leveson's report on The Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press, what steps his Department has taken to comply with the recommendations set out in that paragraph.

Elizabeth Truss: The Government already publishes, on a quarterly basis, information about meetings between Ministers, Permanent Secretaries, special advisers and media proprietors, editors and senior executives. Cross-party talks about Lord Justice Leveson's recommendations, including the implementation of recommendations at paragraph 83 for Government Ministers and Front Bench opposition spokesmen, are on-going.

Education: Qualifications

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  how many and what proportion of Key Stage Four examination entries (a) in total, (b) in each non-academy school, (c) in each converter academy, (d) in each sponsor-led academy and (e) for all academies were for (i) a history GCSE, (ii) a geography GCSE, (iii) a modern foreign language GCSE, (iv) a physics GCSE, (v) a chemistry GCSE, (vi) a biology GCSE, (vii) a science GCSE, (viii) an English GCSE, (ix) an art GCSE, (x) a drama GCSE, (xi) a design and technology GCSE, (xii) an information technology GCSE, (xiii) an OCR national level 2 qualification in information and communications technology and (xiv) a diploma in digital application in 2011-12; and how many and what proportion in each such category were eligible for free school meals;
	(2)  how many Key Stage 4 examination entries there were (a) in total, (b) in each non-academy school, (c) in each converter academy, (d) in each sponsor-led academy and (e) for all academies in (i) a history GCSE, (ii) a geography GCSE, (iii) a modern foreign language GCSE, (iv) a physics GCSE, (v) a chemistry GCSE, (vi) a biology GCSE, (vii) a science GCSE, (viii) an English GCSE, (ix) an art GCSE, (x) a drama GCSE, (xi) a design and technology GCSE, (xii) an information technology GCSE, (xiii) an OCR national level 2 qualification in information and communications technology and (xiv) a diploma in digital application in (A) 2010-11 and (B) 2011-12;
	(3)  how many Key Stage 4 examination entries for pupils eligible for free school meals there were (a) in total, (b) in each non-academy school, (c) in each converter academy, (d) in each sponsor-led academy and (e) for all academies in 2011-12 Key Stage 4 examination entries in (i) a history GCSE, (ii) a geography GCSE, (iii) a modern foreign language GCSE, (iv) a physics GCSE, (v) a chemistry GCSE, (vi) a biology GCSE, (vii) a science GCSE, (viii) an English GCSE, (ix) an art GCSE, (x) a drama GCSE, (xi) a design and technology GCSE, (xii) an information technology GCSE, (xiii) an OCR national level 2 qualification in information and communications technology and (xiv) a diploma in digital application in (A) 2010-11 and (B) 2011-12.

Elizabeth Truss: The information requested has been placed in the House Libraries.

GCSE

Pat Glass: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will publish details of the recent consultation held by his Department on the proposed changes to GCSE examinations.

Elizabeth Truss: The Government has published its response to the public consultation on reforming key stage 4 qualifications, alongside its equality impact analysis and policy steer to Ofqual, the examinations regulator. Copies of these documents have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Beef: Horse Meat

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the Food Standards Agency's statement of 7 February 2013 confirming horse meat in Findus meat products, which Findus products have been tested; and what the results of such tests have been to date.

Anna Soubry: On 7 February the Food Standards Agency (FSA) confirmed that the meat content of beef lasagne products recalled by Findus had tested positive for horse meat. There is no evidence to suggest that this is a food safety risk. However, the FSA has ordered Findus to test the lasagne for the veterinary drug phenylbutazone, or “bute”. Animals treated with phenylbutazone are not allowed to enter the food chain as it may pose a risk to human health. The results of this test are expected in the next few days and will be published on the FSA website.
	The FSA has also ordered food businesses, including Findus, to conduct tests for the presence of significant levels of horse meat on all beef products, such as beef burgers, meatballs and lasagne, and provide the results to the FSA. The deadline for the first set of results to be provided to the FSA is 15 February.

Cancer

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 26 June 2012, Official Report, column 224W, on cancer, what discussions he has had with (a) the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence and (b) the NHS Commissioning Board on the omission of a potential indicator on patient experience of cancer patients from the consultation of the 2014/15 Clinical Commissioning Group Outcomes Indicator Set.

Anna Soubry: The Clinical Commissioning Group Outcomes Indicator Set is a matter for the NHS Commissioning Board.
	The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for advising the NHS Commissioning Board, on potential indicators.
	NICE make recommendations based on the best evidence available. We understand that an indicator on patient experience of cancer services is being considered, and then will be the subject of consultation by NICE.

Cancer

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the commissioning of specialised and non-specialised cancer services will not result in fragmentation of care.

Anna Soubry: Work has been undertaken to support the development of service specifications for both specialist cancer services, which will be commissioned by the NHS Commissioning Board as well as those cancer services that will be commissioned by clinical commissioning groups.
	To date, 15 specialist service specifications have been drafted by the Specialised Cancer Clinical Reference group for the NHS Commissioning Board. The National Cancer Action Team has also produced three advisory service specifications for Clinical Commissioning Groups in breast cancer, colorectal cancer and lung cancer. These are included in the Cancer Commissioning Toolkit.
	These service specifications cover the whole cancer care pathway and will ensure that patients receive appropriate treatment and support at all stages of the patient journey.
	The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is continuing to build its library of Quality Standards, which will act as markers of high quality, cost-effective patient care in NHS. Four cancer quality standards have already, been published.

Cancer

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of using (a) the results of the national cancer patient experience surveys and (b) the friends and family test to improve the experience of cancer patients in the NHS.

Anna Soubry: The national report and 160 bespoke trust level reports from the National Cancer Patient Experience Survey 2011-12 were published in August 2012. These have been made widely available to drive and inform local service improvement. The trust level reports provide benchmarked data nationally and between teams so that priority improvement areas can be identified. We are aware that a number of trusts have produced action plans based on the results of the surveys.
	The National Cancer Action Team has been working with Cancer Networks to drive service improvements based on the results of the survey. This has included producing the report ‘Improvements in cancer patient experience: how have they been made?’, which will be discussed at the next meeting of the Cancer Patient Experience Advisory Group on 8 March 2013, and then shared widely with trusts.
	We have encouraged stakeholders in the third sector to use the survey results to identify and share best practice in patient care and services to support service improvement activity. For example, Macmillan Cancer Support analysed the data and published the 10 best and worst performing trusts in England in 2012, which were also published in the second annual report of ‘Improving Outcomes: A Strategy for Cancer’ in December 2012. Macmillan also produced ‘Improving Cancer Patient Experience—A top tips guide’. This document can be found at:
	www.macmillan.org.uk
	In addition, all the quantitative data from the survey has been sent to the National Data Archive at Essex University and is freely available for access by researchers to undertake a series of analyses under the rules of the archive.
	Patient experience is one of three domains of quality alongside effectiveness and safety. This Government is committed to encouraging services to be responsive to patient needs and experiences, and using feedback to make services truly patient-centred.
	The Friends and Family test will be implemented nationally from 1 April 2013 for all acute in-patient and accident and emergency (A&E) services. All in-patients and patients in A&E departments will be given the opportunity to answer the simple question ‘How likely are you to recommend our ward/A&E department to friends and family if they needed similar care or treatment’.
	The test is unique in that it provides frequent, fast (near-real time) feedback, which is comparable from both patients' and NHS staff perspectives. Alongside other feedback, the test will be used by service providers as a tool for improvement; by commissioners and the public to hold services to account; and by patients to inform choice.
	Where a cancer patient is either an in-patient or discharged from an A&E department, they will be asked the Friends and Family test; however, the results will not be differentiated by patient diagnosis.

Carers: Yorkshire and the Humber

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of registered carers in (a) Brigg and Goole constituency and (b) Yorkshire and the Humber.

Norman Lamb: The only regulated part of the social care work force are social workers and nurses, occupational therapists and other therapists.
	The number of registered social workers employed by councils with adult social services responsibilities is published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre. The data within the publication are supplied by Skills for Care. Data for registered children's social workers are not collected or published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre.
	Data are not collected at constituency level and are therefore presented for Yorkshire and Humber only and are at whole-time equivalent (WTE) level and individual worker level. As at September 2011 there were 1,820 WTE adult social workers in Yorkshire and Humber, this equates to 2,030 individual social workers employed.
	On 11 December, the Office for National Statistics published data from the 2011 Census for England and Wales. These showed that, overall, 5.8 million (10%) of residents in England and Wales provided unpaid care for someone with an illness or disability.

Drugs: Prices

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with (a) the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency and (b) other bodies on a value-based pricing system of drugs and treatments since his appointment; and which other groups he has met in relation to this issue.

Norman Lamb: Since 4 September 2012, the Secretary of State for Health, the right hon. Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), has met with a number of organisations, including the Ministerial Industry Strategy Group, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry and the Life Sciences Champions, where value-based pricing was discussed.
	Ministers and officials have engaged with a wide range of patient groups, clinicians, national health service representatives, industry and other interested parties, including the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency as we develop our plans for the new pricing system for branded medicines, including value-based pricing.

Horses

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which horse premises are on the Food Standard Agency's cause for concern list.

Anna Soubry: There are no slaughterhouses approved for processing horses within the United Kingdom appearing on the Food Standards Agency's (FSA) cause for concern list.
	As part of its ongoing investigation into the mislabelling of meat products the FSA and police entered two meat premises, one in West Yorkshire and the other in West Wales on 13 February 2013.
	The plant in West Yorkshire is Peter Boddy Licensed Slaughterhouse, Todmorden, West Yorkshire, and we believe it supplied horse carcases to Farmbox Meats Ltd, Llandre, Aberystwyth. The FSA and the police are looking into the circumstances through which meat products, purporting to be beef for kebabs and burgers, were sold when they were in fact horse.
	The FSA has suspended operations at both these plants. Both West Yorkshire and Dyfed-Powys police have entered the premises with the FSA. The FSA has detained all meat found, and seized paperwork, including customer lists from the two companies.

North East Strategic Health Authority

Stuart Andrew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 5 November 2012, Official Report, column 470W, on NHS: expenditure, for what reasons the North East Strategic Health Authority has received the second highest level of funding from the National Specialised Commissioning Team since 2004-05.

Norman Lamb: Further analysis of the data given in the answer of 5 November 2012, Official Report, column 470W, on NHS: expenditure, would indicate that expenditure at trusts in the North East Strategic Health Authority area was 4th highest total by area between 2004-05 and 2008-09, the 5th highest in 2009-10 and 2010-11 and 6th highest in 2011-12.
	The National Specialised Commissioning Team (NSCT) in NHS London commissions for the entire population of England. Given the very small number of patients involved, the small number of procedures and the very high level of clinical expertise required to provide such treatments, most nationally commissioned services are provided in a very small number of centres, usually no more than three or four. Providers work collectively to provide a national service to the whole population and must demonstrate their capacity to meet nationally-agreed criteria, detailed service specifications and comprehensive contractual and performance measures, including equality of access.
	The NSCT currently commissions from two providers in the North East Strategic Health Authority area. The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust provides a range of highly specialised services for the benefit of all English patients. Similarly, the Secure Forensic Mental Health Services commissioned from Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Trust receives referrals and admits patients from across England.

Nurses: Recruitment

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many full-time nursing posts were advertised through the NHS Jobs website in each month since January 2010.

Norman Lamb: The Department is able to provide data about the number of job advertisements placed on NHS Jobs by employers in the national health service. However, the data are provided by whole-time equivalents (WTE), (to the nearest whole number) and not full-time posts (these data are not collected)(1).
	The following table shows number of adverts in each month since January 2010 for ‘Nursing' or ‘Nursing & Midwifery Registered' staff groups. It also includes the sum of the 'whole-time equivalent' values on each vacancy.
	(1 )Adverts are listed for single or multiple full-time and part-time posts. The whole-time equivalent figure adds all these together and is not the same as full time posts only.
	
		
			  Number of adverts WTE (rounded to nearest whole number) 
			 January 2010 5,064 8,788 
			 February 2010 4,249 7,707 
			 March 2010 4,654 8,212 
			 April 2010 4,168 7,187 
			 May 2010 4,219 6,904 
			 June 2010 4,575 7,744 
			 July 2010 4,301 7,205 
			 August 2010 4,134 6,575 
			 September 2010 4,023 7,349 
			 October 2010 4,132 7,165 
			 November 2010 4,422 6,858 
			 December 2010 3,377 5,002 
			 January 2011 3,953 6,123 
			 February 2011 3,952 6,420 
			 March 2011 4,151 6,433 
			 April 2011 3,507 5,398 
			 May 2011 4,014 6,345 
		
	
	
		
			 June 2011 4,296 6,888 
			 July 2011 4,269 6,355 
			 August 2011 4,682 7,316 
			 September 2011 4,270 6,950 
			 October 2011 4,307 6,938 
			 November 2011 4,427 6,437 
			 December 2011 3,564 5,309 
			 January 2012 4,477 8,004 
			 February 2012 4,259 6,733 
			 March 2012 4,521 8,123 
			 April 2012 4,271 7,244 
			 May 2012 5,021 10,076 
			 June 2012 4,310 8,510 
			 July 2012 5,008 8,321 
			 August 2012 5,225 8,523 
			 September 2012 4,709 8,202 
			 October 2012 5,556 10,183 
			 November 2012 5,298 11,211 
			 December 2012 4,071 8,426 
			 January 2013 5,104 8,846 
			 Note: The numbers produced are worked out from those vacancies that are in the ‘Nursing' or ‘Nursing & Midwifery. Registered' staff groups, are above band 4 and do not have ‘midwife' or ‘midwives' in the job title. May include a small number of vacancies that are more management than nursing or that are simply mis-identified. Source: Data gathered from NHS Jobs 13 February 2013

Buildings

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the (a) total floor space and (b) floor space measured in square metres per full-time equivalent post is of properties used by his Department.

Gregory Barker: The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) occupy space in four buildings. Details of floor space and square metres per full-time equivalent (FTE) post are as follows:
	3 Whitehall Place, London—DECC occupy the entire building measuring 8,768 square metres. This equates to 7.4 square metres per FTE post.
	55 Whitehall, London—DECC occupy the entire building measuring 1,710 square metres. This equates to 8.4 square metres per FTE post.
	1 Victoria Street, London—DECC are minor occupiers of this building, holding 414 square metres. This equates to 3.7 square metres per FTE post. This figure refers only to the space occupied by desks used by DECC and not. the surrounding space of the larger building, including break-out areas etc.
	Atholl House, Aberdeen—DECC are minor occupiers of this building, holding 1,408 square metres. This equates to 14.9 square metres per FTE post.

Fuel Poverty: Kingston Upon Hull

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate his Department has made of the number of households in (a) Hull and (b) Kingston upon Hull North constituency who were living in fuel poverty in each of the last five years; and how many such households will be eligible for assistance under the Government's proposals for an energy company obligation.

Gregory Barker: Fuel poverty is measured at household level. DECC has produced estimates of local area fuel poverty for 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010 (the latest year available). No estimate was produced for 2007. The figures for Kingston upon Hull North constituency and Kingston upon Hull are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Kingston upon Hull North constituency Kingston upon Hull 
			 2010 6,681 19,017 
			 2009 8,103 23,231 
			 2008 7,539 21,375 
			 2006 6,568 17,580 
		
	
	We do not have data relating to eligibility for the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) for any given constituency or local authority area. ECO contains three separate obligations, two of which are designed to support low income households. The ECO Affordable Warmth obligation supports means-tested benefit recipients in private, tenure properties. The Impact Assessment published estimates the total size of the eligible pool for this part of the policy as some 2.7 million households in Great Britain:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/42984/5533-final-stage-impact-assessment-for-the-green-deal-a.pdf
	The Carbon Saving Communities obligation under ECO will support those living in low income areas. A full list of eligible areas has been published and is available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/48405/5536-carbon-saving-community-obligation-rural-and-low-.pdf
	ECO is expected to deliver support to some 230,000 low income and vulnerable households each year, accounting for some £540 million of the total £1.3 billion annual investment.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will increase humanitarian funding to (a) Democratic Republic of Congo and (b) the North Kivu region to meet growing needs.

Justine Greening: In November 2012 I committed £18 million in additional humanitarian support to address growing needs in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) resulting from the recent conflict. The majority of this additional funding will be spent in North Kivu, and in neighbouring areas most affected by the M23 crisis. This is in addition to our on-going humanitarian assistance to the DRC around £27 million per year. The additional funding will deliver assistance to those affected by the conflict, including the following:
	100,000 people provided with enough food to last three months;
	134,000 people reached with water, sanitation, shelter, essential household items and emergency education;
	11,000 severely malnourished children receiving lifesaving treatment
	1.2 million children vaccinated against measles and other diseases
	10,000 complicated births assisted
	Treatment for 80% of reported cholera cases in target zone
	Medical assistance, psychological and economic support to victims of sexual violence.
	£500,000 to the International Rescue Committee for an emergency gender-based violence response in North and South Kivu, for six months and we have provided £5.5 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross for protection work including assistance to victims of sexual violence and work with armed groups to reduce the incidence of rape as a weapon of war.

Developing Countries: Multinational Companies

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to ensure that multinational companies pay taxes in those developing countries in which they operate.

Justine Greening: The Government is committed to supporting developing countries access sustainable sources of revenue and collect the tax they are due. DFID's work with partner countries actively helps developing countries to establish and maintain effective tax systems. The UK is a strong supporter of improving tax information exchange and also provides funding for assistance on Transfer Pricing in a number of developing countries. The UK's G8 presidency will focus on strengthening international tax standards and working towards greater tax information exchange.

Travel

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much her Department spent on (a) the Government Car Service and (b) other taxi or car services for ministerial travel in each year since 2009-10; and if she will make a statement.

Alan Duncan: Details for the cost of ministerial cars are published in the annual written Ministerial Statement, details of which can be found within the Libraries of both Houses.
	
		
			 Period DFID expenditure (£) 
			 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010 256,656.35 
			 1 April 2010 to 12 May 2010 33,212.22 
		
	
	
		
			 13 May 2010 to 31 March 2011 174,565.37 
			 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012 80,084.35 
		
	
	Details of the costs for 2012-13 will be published in the normal way later this year.
	(b) Within the Department for International Development's information system it is not possible to disaggregate spending on taxis between Ministers and civil servants. It is therefore not possible to obtain this information without incurring disproportionate cost, however ministerial use of taxis in negligible.

Business Appointments Advisory Committee

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office on which occasions the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments has refused to authorise applications from former Government Ministers for external appointments in each of the last two years; and if he will make a statement.

Francis Maude: Information about the Advisory Committee's advice on applications from former Ministers under the Business Appointment Rules are set out in the Advisory Committee's annual reports which are accessible at:
	http://acoba.independent.gov.uk

Government Departments: Procurement

Nia Griffith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  how many small and medium-sized enterprises based in Wales have been successful in winning contracts to supply Government Departments;
	(2)  what the total value is of contracts to supply Government Departments won by small and medium-sized enterprises based in Wales;
	(3)  what proportion of the total value of contracts to supply Government Departments has been won by small and medium-sized enterprises based in Wales.

Chloe Smith: Direct spend with SMEs across Government continues to increase quarter by quarter. Contract award notices for all contracts over £10,000 are publicly available on Contracts Finder. At the present time we are unable to sample this data by the location of the successful company.

Procurement

Julian Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of procurement contracts offered by his Department has been advertised on the Contracts Finder website since that website's inception.

Chloe Smith: As part of the Government's transparency agenda, details of all new contracts let since January 2011 and with a value of £10,000 or more, have been published on Contracts Finder as per Cabinet Office policy:
	https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder

Warships

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  whether the Royal Navy has expressed an interest in manning one or more newly-constructed offshore patrol vessels;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the potential utility of offshore patrol vessels in the future surface fleet.

Philip Dunne: holding answer 13 February 2013
	The role of Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV) is to ensure the Government can exercise sovereign rights and jurisdiction in the territorial and economic waters of the United Kingdom and its Overseas Territories in order to defend their integrity and protect offshore interests. The Royal Navy currently mans and operates three River Class OPVs and HMS Clyde which is an OPV(Helicopter), a total of four. We have no plans to operate or man additional OPVs.

Local Television: Nottingham

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress is being made on local television in Nottingham.

Edward Vaizey: We are very pleased with the progress made to put in place the structures to support the delivery of new local TV services.
	In January, Ofcom awarded the local TV multiplex licence to Comux.
	16 of the 19 local TV licences in Phase 1 have already been awarded—including the licence for Nottingham to Notts TV in November last year.
	Ofcom is now in the final stages of awarding the remaining Phase 1 licences and anticipates that the first local TV services will be able to start broadcasting by the end of this year.

Burma

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which companies took part in the UK trade mission to Burma in December 2012.

Hugo Swire: Thirteen UK companies participated in the UK Trade & Investment trade mission to Burma in December 2012. They were:
	Allen & Overy
	Aggreko
	Barclays Bank
	CMS Cameron McKenna LLP
	HTSPE Ltd
	Mott Macdonald
	Neath Port Talbot College (NPTC)
	Norton Rose
	Pearson Qualifications International
	Rolls-Royce
	Standard Chartered Bank
	Technical and Vocational Education and Training UK (TVET UK)
	Warwickshire College
	The trade mission was focused on the power sector with the aim of helping Burma strengthen its power and electricity generation needs of the people of Burma.

Indonesia

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he had on increasing violations of freedom of religion or belief in Indonesia during the recent state visit by the President of Indonesia to the UK; and what steps he is taking to offer assistance to Indonesia to help address rising religious intolerance.

Hugo Swire: The British Government remains concerned about individuals and groups in Indonesia who are denied the right to freedom of religion or belief, or who face discrimination and persecution. The Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), discussed maintaining progress on human rights with their respective counterparts, President Yudhoyono and Foreign Minister Natalegawa. Following on from the state visit, the UK and Indonesia have agreed to work together on interfaith dialogue.
	Our embassy in Jakarta frequently raises freedom of religion issues with the Government of Indonesia, most recently in December 2012 at meetings at the Ministry of Law, Justice and Human Rights and at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The deputy ambassador also recently met with the Chairman of the Indonesian National Commission on Human Rights (KOMNAS HAM) on 16 January 2013 where incidents of violations of freedom of religion were discussed. Embassy staff are in regular contact with members of civil society and members of religious groups facing difficulties—including representatives from the GKI Yasmin church in Bogor where the Mayor has blocked a permit for a new place of worship despite a Supreme Court ruling in their favour. In the UK's statement for Indonesia's Universal Periodic Review in May 2012, we encouraged the Indonesian Government to tackle violence against minority faiths, ensure that those who perpetrate these acts are brought to justice, and to promote a climate where such incidents do not reoccur. We also continue to encourage Indonesia to accept a visit by the UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Religion.
	Our embassy is using project funds to support a civil society dialogue with the police on religious freedom, run by the non-governmental organisation, Kontras Indonesia. We are also supporting a project which aims to increase understanding of and tolerance for religious freedom through radio, TV, public discussion and social media.

Palestinians

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Palestinian Authority on reports that Fatah's official Lebanese Facebook page published images of a mother dressing her young son with explosives.

Alistair Burt: Officials at the British Consulate Jerusalem are looking into these reports. If proven correct it would be a matter of serious concern. The Government condemns the use of racist and hateful language, and most recently raised the issue of incitement with Palestinian Prime Minister Fayyad's office in January 2013. We deplore incitement on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including any comments that could encourage violence or stir up hatred and prejudice in a region that needs a culture of peace and mutual respect.

Affordable Housing: Surrey

Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much affordable housing has been built in (a) Woking constituency and (b) Surrey in each of the last five years.

Mark Prisk: Statistics on affordable housing supply by local authority district are available in tables 1008 and 1011, at the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-affordable-housing-supply
	These total figures include both new build housing, which accounts for around 85% of additional affordable housing over the last five years, and acquisitions from the private sector.

Homelessness: Bolton

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of children who are homeless in (a) Bolton and (b) Bolton South East constituency; and what steps he is taking to reduce these figures.

Mark Prisk: As at 30 September 2012, 64 dependent or expected children were in temporary accommodation as members of households accommodated by Bolton metropolitan borough council. This includes households placed by the council in accommodation within another local authority area, for which separate figures are not collected.
	To place these figures in context, at the same point over the last four years, the number of children in temporary accommodation was 58 in 2011, 61 in 2010, 46 in 2009 and 68 in 2008.
	Looked at another way, of the 83 households accepted as owed the main homelessness duty in Bolton between 1 July and 30 September 2012, 48 included at least one dependent child.
	The Department does not collect corresponding figures to those above for individual parliamentary constituencies, except where they happen to be coterminous with the area of a local authority. This is not the case for the Bolton and Bolton South East constituencies.
	We are determined to tackle the problem of homeless families. So, from 9 November, local authorities have new powers under the Localism Act to use good-quality private rented sector accommodation to end the main homelessness duty. Families will no longer need to be placed in temporary accommodation while they wait for social housing to become available.
	At the same time, we have also put in place extra protection for the most vulnerable. The Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) (England) Order 2012 will help prevent the use of temporary accommodation which is long distances from the families previous home and community.
	For households already in temporary accommodation the local authority has a duty (under section 193 of the Housing Act) to find that family settled accommodation. Local authorities should continue to work with these households to discuss alternative housing options as they become available.

Large Goods Vehicles

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research his Department has commissioned on the relationship between (a) HGV density of traffic flows, (b) speed of those traffic flows and (c) accident levels.

Stephen Hammond: The Department commissioned an evaluation of a potential increase in the speed limit of heavy goods vehicles (over 7.5 tonnes) on single carriageway roads, from the current limit of 40 mph.
	The report was published in November 2012 and is available at
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/heavy-goods-vehicle-speed-limit-increase-evaluation-final-report

Liquefied Petroleum Gas

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the number of petrol stations that supply liquid petroleum gas fuel in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of vehicles which use liquid petroleum gas on UK roads in each of the last five years;
	(3)  what steps his Department has taken to encourage the use of LPG vehicles;
	(4)  how many vehicles have been converted to use LPG in each of the last five years;
	(5)  what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on the environmental benefits of encouraging the use of LPG in vehicles;
	(6)  what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer regarding the tax regime for LPG fuel.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport has made no estimate of the number of petrol stations that supply liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
	The numbers of licensed vehicles recorded by DVLA as having a gas-related propulsion code in Great Britain at the end of September 2012 (the latest available figures) and at the end of each of the 5 previous years are shown in the following table. These figures may include vehicles using alternative fuel types other than LPG.
	
		
			 Licensed vehicles with 'gas'(1) propulsion type, Great Britain 
			 Thousands of vehicles 
			 Date Cars Other vehicles Total 
			 31 Dec 2007 45.1 16.1 61.3 
			 31 Dec 2008 49.6 16.2 65.8 
			 31 Dec 2009 50.9 16.2 67.1 
			 31 Dec 2010 51.0 16.1 67.0 
			 31 Dec 2011 50.0 15.7 65.7 
			 30 Sep 2012 49.8 15.6 65.4 
			 (1) Includes gas, gas bi-fuel, petrol/gas and gas-diesel Source: DfT Vehicle Licensing Statistics, derived from the DVLA vehicle register, an operational database used to handle the licensing of vehicles registered in Great Britain. 
		
	
	Cars that have been constructed or modified to run on gas benefit from a £10 reduction in taxation levels for Alternative Fuel Cars under Vehicle Excise Duty. Owners of LPG cars also benefit from paying lower fuel duty on LPG than would be paid on petrol and diesel. LPG road fuel has a duty reduction worth the equivalent of 35.79p per litre compared with petrol. In addition at Budget 2012 we extended the existing 100% first-year capital allowance for gas refuelling equipment for two years to 31 March 2015.
	The Department does not hold data on how many vehicles have been converted to use LPG in each of the last five years. Grants for LPG conversions were previously available under the PowerShift grant programme. Following a consultation in 2004, in response to which both industry and the previous Government expressed support for a technology-neutral approach (providing incentives for clean, low carbon vehicles irrespective of the technology used), the programme was suspended.
	HM Treasury consults with the Department for Transport and the Department for Energy and Climate Change in determining the overall package of duty rates, and these discussions consider the environmental benefits of support provided through the tax regime.

M180: Road Traffic

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what annual traffic flows on the M180 have been in each of the last five years; what the level of HGV use of that road has been in that period; and how many accidents have been recorded on that road in that time.

Stephen Hammond: The annual traffic flows on the M180 are as follows:
	
		
			  2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 
			 Link Annual total HGV total Annual total HGV total Annual total HGV total Annual total HGV total Annual total HGV total 
			 J1-0 8,253,927 2,412,438 8,177,825 2,391,931 7,955,723 2,167,741 7,916,120 2,299,648 8,022,153 2,350,554 
			 J1-2 6,750,310 2,149,917 6,614,713 2,106,722 6,412,138 1,891,193 6,442,068 1,986,846 6,531,858 2,017,748 
			 J2-3 6,726,220 1,862,875 6,573,285 1,807,564 6,473,823 1,663,790 6,092,398 1,586,646 n/a n/a 
		
	
	The personal injury accidents (PIAs) data are recorded by the police. This information, once validated, is stored on databases managed by local authorities and at a national level. The number of PIAs on the M180 for each year between 2007 and 2011 are recorded in the following table:
	
		
			  Accidents 
			 2007 35 
			 2008 29 
			 2009 34 
			 2010 42 
			 2011 28

Motorways

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information his Department holds on research into the potential effect on road safety of the replacement of motorway hard shoulders by refuges; and whether he has made an assessment of such research.

Stephen Hammond: The Highways Agency has completed an assessment of the safety risk for the managed motorways layout all lane running, which includes the permanent conversion of the hard shoulder to a running lane and the inclusion of refuge areas.
	This assessment showed a 15% reduction in safety risk when compared to a dual three lane motorway with hard shoulder. This assessment is contained in the Highways Agency's report ‘Managed Motorways All Lanes Running—Demonstration of Meeting Safety Objective Report’ that is available on the agency website and I have also placed a copy in the Libraries of the House.
	The safety risk analysis of all lanes running has learnt from the three year safety performance of the active traffic management operation of dynamic hard shoulder running between junctions 3A and 7 of the M42. An assessment of this performance showed that the average number of personal injury accidents reduced from 5.08 per month before the implementation of active traffic management to 2.25 per month following the introduction of hard shoulder running. This represents a 55.7% reduction in accidents.

Speed Limits: Traffic Lights

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations he has received on the use of speed control traffic lights which are activated to turn red by drivers going over the speed limit; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Baker: There have been no recent requests to use traffic lights to control speed by turning red when an approaching driver goes over the speed limit.
	Rather than turning lights red to control speed, we advocate the use of 'green waves' - programming the signals across a network to turn green if traffic approaches at a given speed. As well as controlling speed, this can improve traffic flow and reduce delays.

Bail

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many placements have been available in bail accommodation funded from the public purse in each of the last three years; and what the average occupancy rate was of such accommodation.

Jeremy Wright: In relation to BASS accommodation, the figures requested (for the year from 1 September to 31 August) are as follows:
	
		
			  Available BASS bed spaces (placements) Average BASS Occupancy (%) 
			 2011-12 653 77 
			 2010-11 647 76 
			 2009-10 696 57 
		
	
	Defendants on bail may also be housed in approved premises (APs). Bailees represent only a small percentage of the number of AP residents and no places are specifically allocated to them.

Community Orders

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many offenders have been placed on community payback orders in each probation area in England and Wales for each year since 2008; and how many such offenders reoffended within two years of the completion of the requirements of the order in each such area in each such year.

Jeremy Wright: Proven reoffending statistics for England and Wales are published quarterly, most recently for the period January to December 2010. These statistics provide information on proven reoffending at the national, local authority, prison and probation trust level.
	It is not possible to provide information on the number of offenders who reoffended following the completion of the community payback (unpaid work) requirement of their order because the Ministry's proven reoffending data measures reoffending from the start of a court order. However, for information, we can provide data on the number of offenders who reoffended within 12 months of commencing this type of requirement.
	The following table shows the number of adult offenders in England and Wales starting a court order with an unpaid work requirement, by probation trust, in each year from 2008 to 2010; and the proportion that committed a proven reoffence within a one year follow-up period (ie the one year proven reoffending rate).
	A proven reoffence is defined as any offence committed in a one year follow-up period and receiving a court conviction, caution, reprimand or warning in the one year follow-up. Following this one year period, a further six month waiting period is allowed for cases to progress through the courts.
	Please note that proven reoffending statistics are available from the Ministry of Justice website at:
	www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/reoffending/proven-re-offending
	
		
			 Table 1: Proven reoffending rates for adult offenders starting a Court Order(1) with an unpaid work requirement in each year from 2008 to 2010, by probation trust, England and Wales 
			 Probation trust 2008 2009 2010 
			 Avon and Somerset    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 28.8 26.9 27.4 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 1,575 1,735 1,851 
			     
			 Bedfordshire    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 24.0 24.7 24.1 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 830 910 892 
			     
			 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 31.3 30.6 30.4 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 1,154 1,258 1,311 
			     
			 Cheshire    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 27.2 24.9 26.1 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 1,495 1,488 1,469 
			     
			 Cumbria    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 34.9 31.6 30.3 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 1,046 873 819 
		
	
	
		
			 Derbyshire    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 24.9 24.0 23.6 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 1,528 1,625 1,483 
			     
			 Devon and Cornwall    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 28.8 27.7 25.6 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 1,490 1,510 1,397 
			     
			 Dorset    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 26.4 28.6 27.4 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 702 686 647 
			     
			 Durham Tees Valley    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 37.7 37.8 39.0 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 2,114 1,656 1,675 
			     
			 Essex    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 26.3 25.2 26.5 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 2,083 2,436 2,368 
			     
			 Gloucestershire    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 32.8 30.6 25.3 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 551 513 474 
			     
			 Greater Manchester    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 28.6 27.8 27.5 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 5,315 5,424 5,532 
			     
			 Hampshire    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 27.0 26.4 27.3 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 2,583 2,231 2,285 
			     
			 Hertfordshire    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 27.5 28.8 24.8 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 1,159 1,078 1,142 
			     
			 Humberside    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 30.7 30.2 28.5 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 1,549 1,552 1,552 
			     
			 Kent    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 29.0 28.5 29.8 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 2,305 2,584 2,431 
			     
			 Lancashire    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 30.5 32.7 30.8 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 2,004 2,059 2,129 
			     
			 Leicestershire    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 23.5 23.8 25.5 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 1,381 1,262 1,369 
			     
			 Lincolnshire    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 31.1 27.0 27.3 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 671 775 777 
			     
			 London    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 28.2 27.9 26.9 
		
	
	
		
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 10,370 11,406 11,262 
			     
			 Merseyside    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 29.7 30.8 29.3 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 2,319 2,501 2,369 
			     
			 Norfolk and Suffolk    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 32.7 32.0 31.2 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 2,021 2,063 2,016 
			     
			 York and North Yorkshire    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 35.1 31.6 33.0 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 1,035 1,230 1,115 
			     
			 Northamptonshire    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 29.6 26.8 22.7 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 767 940 1,007 
			     
			 Northumbria    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 40.3 37.0 37.6 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 2,020 2,011 1,947 
			     
			 Nottinghamshire    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 30.5 29.4 31.0 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 1,713 1,911 2,021 
			     
			 South Yorkshire    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 29.5 27.7 29.0 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 2,374 2,640 2,632 
			     
			 Staffordshire and West Midlands    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 27.1 23.9 23.2 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 5,351 6,036 5,907 
			     
			 Surrey and Sussex    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 27.0 26.5 26.1 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 2,823 2,907 2,815 
			     
			 Thames Valley    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 26.8 26.4 24.6 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 2,369 2,280 2,479 
			     
			 Wales    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 31.0 31.0 29.1 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 4,906 5,239 5,355 
			     
			 Warwickshire    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 29.5 24.3 22.5 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 573 716 631 
			     
			 West Mercia    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 29.8 28.1 30.3 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 1,273 1,558 1,315 
			     
			 West Yorkshire    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 34.1 30.0 29.9 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 3,719 4,209 4,458 
			     
		
	
	
		
			 Wiltshire    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 29.3 28.1 27.0 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 680 651 589 
			     
			 Unknown/More than one    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 27.5 30.3 26.9 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 873 970 836 
			 (1) This does not represent all offenders—offenders who commenced a court order are matched to the police national computer database and a certain proportion of these offenders who cannot be matched are excluded from the offender cohort. (2) Court Orders include Community Orders and Suspended Sentence Orders which were introduced in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and came into force in April 2005.

Confiscation Orders

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much has been recovered under each of the 10 largest confiscation orders imposed by the courts for fraud cases since May 2010.

Helen Grant: The table records the 10 largest value confiscation orders granted since May 2010 in relation to fraud cases, within England and Wales and how much has been recovered.
	Large value confiscation orders often contain hidden and overseas assets, which makes them extremely difficult to enforce. I have provided a breakdown of the hidden and overseas assets in the table against each order. Of the 10 highest valued confiscation orders relating to fraud cases 79% of the value imposed relates to hidden or overseas assets.
	The Government takes confiscating criminals’ assets very seriously and during 2011-12 we recovered 8% more from all confiscation orders than in the previous financial year. This year performance has significantly increased again, and for the period April 2012 to the end of October 2012, we have collected 13% more than the same period last year. This means that, though there is still work to do, we are on course to have our most successful year ever.
	During the last two complete financial years, 77% of all confiscation orders imposed were successfully completed.
	Appendix A
	The following table records the 10 largest value confiscation orders granted since May 2010 in relation to fraud cases, within England and Wales and how much has been recovered.
	
		
			 Fraud Offence Order Amount/Lead Enforcement Agency Amount Recovered Order Date Hidden/Overseas Assets contained in order Key Facts 
			 VAT Fraud £40,000,000 CPS POCU (Crown Prosecution Service Proceeds of Crime Unit) £0 8 October 2010 Hidden £40,000,000 Offender has been deported. 
			       
			 Other Fraud/Embezzlement/Deception/Crimes of Dishonesty £29,276,566 Serious Fraud Office £0 30 August 2012 Hidden £595,000 Overseas £26,000,000 The confiscation order is currently under appeal therefore active enforcement cannot proceed. Not yet in default of payment, as has until 28 February 2013 to pay. 
			       
			 Other Fraud/Embezzlement/Deception/Crimes of Dishonesty £20,000,000 Serious Fraud Office £13,826 5 August 2010 Hidden £19,400,000 Offender is currently serving a default Sentence for non payment. An Enforcement Receiver has been appointed 
			       
			 VAT Fraud £16,145,098 CPS POCU £0 19 July 2010 Hidden £3,000,000 Overseas £13,000,000 The CPS has an application pending to appoint an Enforcement Receiver, as of 2 November 2012. Default sentence is being served. Co-offender of the order below. 
			       
			 VAT Fraud £16,145,098 CPS POCU £0 19 July 2010 Hidden £451,000 Overseas £15,700,000 The CPS has an application pending to appoint an Enforcement Receiver, as of 2 November 2012. Default sentence is being served. Co-offender of the order above. 
			       
			 Other Fraud/Embezzlement/Deception/Crimes of Dishonesty £9,427,123 CPS POCU £563 13 July 2012  Not yet in default of payment, as has until 13 January 2013 to pay, therefore an Enforcement Receiver cannot be appointed at this time. 
			       
			 VAT Fraud £8,405,342 CPS POCU £1,427,191 26 June 2012  The CPS has an application pending to appoint an Enforcement Receiver. Not yet in default of payment, as has until 27 December 2012 to pay. 
			       
			 Other Fraud/Embezzlement/Deception/Crimes of Dishonesty £6,565,942 CPS POCU £6,510,696 28 March 2011  This is a company confiscation order with £55,246 of the order balance left to pay, due to a shortfall in the funds held. An Enforcement Receiver has not been required. 
		
	
	
		
			       
			 Other Fraud/Embezzlement/Deception/Crimes of Dishonesty £4,812,245 CPS Branch £3,880,732 16 January 2012 £4,000,000 is held in pension funds The Offender has liquidated his pension funds. Default sentence has not been served as the offender is cooperating in paying his order. An Enforcement Receiver has not been required. 
			       
			 VAT Fraud £3,570,000 CPS POCU £0 8 July 2011 Hidden £3,500,000 The confiscation order is currently under appeal therefore active enforcement cannot proceed. The default sentence has not been applied.

Confiscation Orders

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how much has been recovered under each of the 10 largest confiscation orders imposed by the courts for drugs cases since May 2010;
	(2)  what the 10 largest confiscation orders imposed by the courts for drugs cases were since May 2010.

Helen Grant: The following table records the 10 largest value confiscation orders granted since May 2010 in relation to drugs cases, within England and Wales and how much has been recovered.
	Large value confiscation orders often contain hidden and overseas assets, which makes them extremely difficult to enforce. I have provided a breakdown of the hidden and overseas assets in the table against each order. Of the 10 highest valued confiscation orders relating to drugs cases 54% of the value imposed relates to hidden or overseas assets.
	The Government takes confiscating criminals’ assets very seriously and during 2011-12 we recovered 8% more from all confiscation orders than in the previous financial year. This year performance has significantly increased again, and for the period April 2012 to the end of October 2012, we have collected 13% more than the same period last year. This means that, though there is still work to do, we are on course to have our most successful year ever.
	During the last two complete financial years, 77% of all confiscation orders imposed were successfully completed.
	
		
			 Drug offence Order amount Amount recovered Order date Hidden/overseas assets contained in order Has a receiver been appointed Any other key information 
			 Drug Trafficking £10,508,650 CPS POCU (Crown Prosecution Service Proceeds of Crime Unit) £1,432,032 9 September 2010 Hidden £16,000 Overseas £1,460,000 Many of the assets relate to buildings and land — The default sentence has not been applied. An Enforcement Receiver is still enforcing the order and a number of payments have been received during 2012 
			        
			 Drug Trafficking £2,652,925 HMCTS £66,032 17 February 2012 Hidden £2,600,000 — Default sentence not yet activated. Unable to appoint an Enforcement Receiver as all assets are hidden 
			        
			 Drug Trafficking £2,402,728 CPS Branch £251,437 20 April 2011 Hidden £1,000,000 Overseas £583,200 (buildings and land) — Earliest release from prison is October 2022. Default sentence not yet activated. An Enforcement Receiver has been appointed 
			        
			 Drug Trafficking £2,395,430 CPS Branch £573,544 18 January 2012 Overseas £1,203,000 (buildings and land) — The offender time is currently not in default as he has until 18 January 2013 to pay his order. Unable to appoint an Enforcement Receiver as the time to pay hasn’t expired 
		
	
	
		
			 Drug Trafficking £2,353,655 HMCTS £815 22 November 2010 Hidden £2,353,655 — Unable to appoint an Enforcement Receiver as all assets are hidden. The offender is currently serving a default sentence for non payment 
			        
			 Drug Trafficking £2,275,454 HMCTS £1,130,067 16 April 2012 No Hidden or Overseas Assets — Offender is not currently in default as time to pay expires on 16 April 2013 
			        
			 Money Laundering—Drugs £2,075,117 HMCTS £51,764 28 June 2011 Hidden £2,016,000 — Unable to appoint an Enforcement Receiver as all assets are hidden. The offender is currently serving a default sentence for non payment 
			        
			 Drug Trafficking £1,490,721 CPS Branch £0 17 May 2011 Hidden £1,486,131 — The offender is currently serving a default sentence for non payment. Unable to appoint an Enforcement Receiver as all assets are hidden 
			        
			 Money Laundering—Drugs £1,476,976 CPS Branch £0 30 March 2011 Hidden £182,000 Overseas £1,658,976 — An Enforcement Receiver has been considered, but an application is not being made at this stage 
			        
			 Money Laundering—Drugs £1,362,218 HMCTS £9,338 28 February 2011 Hidden £1,335,381 — Unable to appoint an Enforcement Receiver as all assets are hidden. The offender is serving a prison sentence until 2017. A default sentence for non payment has not been activated yet

Departmental Responsibilities

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his Department's core statutory obligations are; and what estimate he has made of the annual cost of delivering each such obligation.

Helen Grant: The core responsibilities of the Ministry of Justice are set out in the Appropriation Act for each year which authorises the use of resources for each Department. The core functions listed include the administration of the National Offender Management Service, Her Majesty's Court and Tribunal Service and civil and criminal legal aid, together with functions in relation to justice policy, victims and the criminal justice system.
	The costs of delivering the obligations are published in the Main Estimates and the Ministry of Justice annual report and accounts.

Domestic Visits

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which individuals and organisations (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have visited since May 2010; and on what date each such visit took place.

Jeremy Wright: The following table provides details of visits to external organisations by Ministry of Justice Ministers since May 2010 as part of their departmental responsibilities.
	
		
			 Minister Date Organisation 
			 Jonathan Djanogly 27 May 2010 Barking Community Legal Advice Centre 
			 Jonathan Djanogly 3 June 2010 Wandsworth Citizens’ Advice Bureau 
			 Jonathan Djanogly 19 October 2010 National Pro Bono Centre 
			 Jonathan Djanogly 31 January 2011 June Venters QC, Pro Bono Centre 
			 Jonathan Djanogly 2 February 2011 Community Links Centre 
			 Jonathan Djanogly 9 February 2011 Kent Family Mediation Service, Swale Borough Council 
			 Jonathan Djanogly 10 May 2011 Irwin Mitchell 
			 Jonathan Djanogly 26 January 2012 Criminal Cases Review Commission 
			 Jonathan Djanogly 30 January 2012 ILEX 
			 Helen Grant 18 October 2012 Victims Safehouse 
			 Helen Grant 26 November 2012 Suzy Lamplugh Trust National Centre 
			 Nick Herbert 29 September 2010 Reducing Reoffending visit to Hull 
			 Lord McNally 18 October 2010 Law Commission 
			 Lord McNally 22 October 2010 The National Archives 
			 Lord McNally 12 November 2010 Runnymede Council— Magna Carta launch event 
			 Lord McNally 19 November 2010 Gray’s Inn 
			 Lord McNally 17 February 2011 National Archives (Kew) 
			 Lord McNally 8 March 2011 Information Commissioner’s Office and UKBA 
			 Lord McNally 18 March 2011 Turning Point Douglas House Project 
			 Crispin Blunt 1 April 2011 Amber Project, Dorking 
			 Lord McNally 12 April 2011 Serious Organised Crime Agency 
			 Ken Clarke 6 May 2011 Nottingham Women’s Centre 
			 Lord McNally 25 May 2011 UCL Constitution Unit 
			 Crispin Blunt 4 July 2011 Koestler Trust 
			 Lord McNally 27 July 2011 Press Complaints Commission 
			 Crispin Blunt 30 July 2011 Slough College 
			 Crispin Blunt 2 August 2011 G4S —electronic monitoring centre in Manchester 
			 Lord McNally 31 August 2011 Kainos Community (in HMP Swaleside) 
			 Nick Herbert 24 September 2011 Various 
			 Nick Herbert 28 September 2011 North Kent live links demonstration 
			 Lord McNally 6 October 2011 Index and English Pen 
			 Crispin Blunt 11 November 2011 The One Service (payment by results pilot, Peterborough) 
			 Nick Herbert 30 November 2011 Victim Support 
			 Nick Herbert 7 December 2011 CJR Neighbourhood Resolution Panel—Sheffield 
			 Nick Herbert 14 December 2011 CJR Visit—Hampshire 
			 Lord McNally 23 December 2011 Turning Point 
			 Ken Clarke 9 January 2012 Lilian Baylis Old School, Lambeth 
			 Ken Clarke 23 January 2012 Milton Keynes Mediation Centre 
			 Crispin Blunt 14 February 2012 Victim Support—new branch in Leicester 
			 Lord McNally 13 March 2012 Minerva Project 
			 Lord McNally 29 March 2012 Equality and Diversity Forum 
			 Nick Herbert 17 April 2012 Sussex Magistrates Association AGM 
			 Lord McNally 26 April 2012 48 Group Club 
			 Lord McNally 4 May 2012 Carillion 
			 Lord McNally 15 June 2012 The National Trust 
			 Nick Herbert 18 June 2012 Visit to community payback scheme in Kettering and Round Table with Northants Probation Trust, Kettering Borough Council and Northants Partnership Executives 
			 Nick Herbert 21 June 2012 Visit to buddi offender management solution in Kettering and polygraphing sex offenders pilot with Hertfordshire constabulary 
			 Nick Herbert 25 June 2012 CJS Reform visit to Merseyside and London 
			 Lord McNally 17 July 2012 Thames Valley Restorative Justice Service 
			 Crispin Blunt 19 July 2012 Fine Cell Work HQ in London 
			 Crispin Blunt 30 July 2012 Rape Crisis Centre in Croydon 
			 Lord McNally 29 September 2012 Birmingham Law Society/Resolution 
			 Lord McNally 12 October 2012 Legal Aid Practitioners Group 
			 Lord McNally 8 November 2012 National Grid Young Offenders Programme 
			 Chris Grayling 12 November 2012 Westminster Academy 
		
	
	
		
			 Jeremy Wright 13 November 2012 G4S—electronic monitoring centre in Manchester 
			 Lord McNally 14 November 2012 Cooperative Group—Family Law Service 
			 Damian Green 30 November 2012 Integrate Offender Management visit—Leeds 
			 Damian Green 3 January 2013 Virtual Courts Visit—Sutton Coldfield police station 
		
	
	In addition to these visits, Ministers regularly attend receptions, make speeches and visit prisons, courts and other sites within the justice system; these are not included in the table. Also excluded are meetings and overseas travel; these are captured in the quarterly gifts, meetings and hospitality returns, which are available on the Justice website (or the Home Office website for the right hon. Nick Herbert MP and the right hon. Damian Green MP).

Legal Aid Scheme

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much and what proportion of legal aid was awarded in each year between 1997 and 2011 to individuals serving a custodial sentence at the time the award was made; and how many such individuals received such awards.

Jeremy Wright: The Government is clear that legal aid must be available to those who need it, but resources are not limitless. That is why we were concerned to see an increase of £25 million in legal aid spend on prison law, between 2001-02 and 2010-11.
	Restrictions placed on prisoners' access to legal advice are having an impact. In July 2010 we reduced the availability of legal aid for prison law treatment cases, which has already reduced spend. However I am still concerned about public confidence in the legal aid system, and an urgent review into this has been ordered.
	The details of legal aid spending on prison law each year from 2001-02 to 2011-12 and as a proportion of total legal aid spending in England and Wales, is provided in the table.
	Details of the amounts of legal aid spent on prison law is not available for years prior to 2001-02 as spending cannot be disaggregated from other areas of legal aid.
	
		
			  Legal aid spend on prison law in England and Wales(1) (£) Proportion of total legal aid spending in England and Wales (%) Total legal aid spending in England and Wales(1) (£) 
			 2001-02 1 0.06 l,717 
			 2002-03 3 0.18 1,909 
			 2003-04 5 0.24 2,077 
			 2004-05 7 0.33 2,038 
			 2005-06 9 0.43 2,028 
			 2006-07 12 0.63 1,984 
			 2007-08 16 0.80 2,036 
			 2008-09 21 1.01 2,108 
			 2009-10 25 1.16 2,149 
			 2010-11 26 1.21 2,134 
			 2011-12 23 1.12 2,039 
			 (1) Rounded to the nearest £ million.

Pay Systems

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will publish details of all payment by results scheme pilots since 2009 indicating (a) the aims and objectives of the pilot, (b) when the pilot started, (c) when it completed or is due to complete, (d) when interim evaluation data was published or is due to be published, (e) when final independent evaluation data was published or is due to be published, (f) how much funding was allocated for each pilot and (g) how much funding was spent on each pilot.

Helen Grant: 14 payment by results pilot schemes became operational since 2009.
	The pilots test different models and help to inform the use of payment by results in the Criminal Justice system. The Peterborough and Doncaster pilots and the Employment and Reoffending pilots are targeting reduced reoffending within the target cohort of offenders. The local justice reinvestment pilots target reduced demand on local justice services in the pilot areas. The Youth Justice Reinvestment Pathfinders target a reduction in the number of bednights spent by young offenders in custody.
	The Ministry of Justice has recently published the consultation paper “Transforming Rehabilitation—a revolution in the way we manage offenders” setting out how we propose to extend payment by results for rehabilitation in the community. We will examine each of the operating pilots further as we develop our approach, both drawing lessons and considering whether they should continue to operate in coordination with new services or whether they should be replaced by new services.
	The Ministry of Justice has identified the maximum potential financial exposure by reference to the contractual terms of each pilot. The level of actual spending on each pilot is ultimately dependent on the provider’s success in reducing reoffending. We will therefore identify the spending requirement for each pilot once the final results have been assessed.
	Details of the pilots, including start and completion dates and the timing of evaluations, are set out in the following table:
	
		
			 Payment by results pilot schemes which became operational since 2009 
			  Date pilot became operational Date pilot operations are due to end Interim Evaluation published(Process Evaluation) Final Independent evaluation data published 
			 HMP Peterborough September 2010 By September 2016(4) May 2011 Summer 2014(5) 
			    Spring 2015 Final process evaluation 2018 
			      
			 HMP Doncaster October 2011 October 2015 November 2012 Summer 2014(6) 
			    Autumn 2014 Final process evaluation spring 2016 
			      
		
	
	
		
			 Local Justice Reinvestment Pilots(1) July 2011 June 2013 Spring 2013 Year 1—November 2012 
			     Year 2—November 2013 
			     Final process evaluation summer 2014 
			      
			 Employment and Reoffending Pilots(2) September 2012 September 2016 Autumn 2013 Summer 2015(7) 
			    Autumn 2015 Final process evaluation 2018 
			      
			 Youth Justice Reinvestment Pathfinders(3) October 2011 September 2013 Spring 2013 Autumn 2014 
			 (1) There are six Justice Reinvestment pilots—in Greater Manchester, Croydon, Hackney, Lambeth, Lewisham, Southwark. (2) The two Employment and Reoffending pilots are in Wales and west midlands and the Marches. (3) The four Youth Justice Reinvestment Pathfinders in Year 1 of the pilot were in Birmingham, north and east London, West Yorkshire and West London. (4) The Peterborough pilot will last for up to six years, with three cohorts of short sentence prisoners, one after another, each containing around 1,000 offenders. Each cohort will remain open until it reaches capacity, or for a maximum period of 24 months. (5) Results from cohort one. Subsequent cohort results approximately every two years thereafter, maximum three cohorts. (6) Results from cohort one. Subsequent cohort results to be published approximately annually thereafter, maximum three cohorts. (7) Results from cohort one. Subsequent cohort results to be published approximately annually thereafter, maximum three cohorts. 
		
	
	The Ministry of Justice is continuing to assess the robustness of early indicative reoffending data from the pilots and whether it is suitable for publication as Official Statistics. Any publication of such data will be pre-announced on the Ministry of Justice website following standard Official Statistics release protocols.
	In addition, the Ministry of Justice has been supporting work, led by Department of Health to co-design and implement eight drug and alcohol Payment by Results pilots to assess whether paying on the basis of results can further incentivise the delivery of a range of recovery outcomes rather than simply engaging people in treatment. The Ministry of Justice provides no funding to these pilots, which are not part of the department’s own pilot programme.

Prisons: Expenditure

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much has been spent from the public purse on prisons in each year since 1987.

Jeremy Wright: The expenditure recorded each year since 1987-88 on prisons in England and Wales is as follows:
	
		
			  Total expenditure (£ million) 
			 2011-12 2,213 
			 2010-11 2,219 
			 2009-10 2,288 
			 2008-09 2,283 
			 2007-08 2,317 
			 2006-07 2,175 
			 2005-06 2,073 
			 2004-05 2,407 
			 2003-04 2,281 
			 2002-03 2,405 
			 2001-02 2,245 
			 2000-01 2,135 
			 1999-2000 2,129 
			 1998-99 2,089 
			 1997-98 1,904 
			 1996-97 1,774 
			 1995-96 1,747 
			 1994-95 1,601 
			 1993-94 1,288 
			 1992-93 1,660 
			 1991-92 1,631 
			 1990-91 1,464 
			 1989-90 1,206 
			 1988-89 1,014 
			 1987-88 882 
			 Notes: 1. Figures include both public sector and private prisons. 2. Figures from 1993-94 do not include capital expenditure. 
		
	
	The figures from 2008-09 are as recorded with the Addendums to the published accounts of the National Offender Management Service, and previously in the published accounts of the HM Prison Service and Home Office.
	Over the last 25 years changes to the scope of the Prison Service and the accounting treatment in recording expenditure means the ability to make useful comparisons between years is reduced.

Prisons: Expenditure

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much capital expenditure there was on each prison in each year since 2007.

Jeremy Wright: Details of capital expenditure for all prisons for each year since 2007 is given in the following table:
	
		
			 £ million 
			 Type of capital expenditure 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Major capital expenditure 495 473 540 328 166 
			 Local capital expenditure 10 13 14 10 18 
			 Notes: 1. Local capital expenditure is that met directly by the establishment and excludes expenditure met at regional or national level. 2. Local capital acquisitions include purchases of items such as plant, machinery, mechanical and electrical equipment etc. 3. Figures include immigration removal centres and major investment on new builds during this period. 4. Figures may not be directly comparable over time due to changes in scope and accounting treatment. 5. The capitalisation threshold increased from £5,000 to £10,000 from 1 April 2010. 6. All figures are rounded. 
		
	
	The higher figures reflect investment in the prison capacity programme which has now come to an end.
	The Department holds detailed information on capital expenditure, but because it is not collated by establishments as a matter of course, it will take departmental staff some time to draw it together. As soon as this has been done I will write to the right hon. Gentleman and place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.

Prisons: Food

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  whether any changes have been made to his Department's contract with 3663 to supply Halal meat for prison food in the last three years;
	(2)  what contingency planning his Department has undertaken to avoid any disturbances in prisons following the identification of contaminated Halal meat in prison food;
	(3)  how long 3663 has been providing food to the prison estate;
	(4)  whether his Department is able to impose financial penalties on suppliers of contaminated Halal meat in prisons;
	(5)  whether any prison food containing contaminated Halal meat had been distributed further than the prison estate.

Jeremy Wright: The standard for the provision of Halal products has not changed or been amended during the past three years. During this time, 3663 has been the sole provider of Halal products. They have been contracted to supply food to public sector prisons since June 2007.
	The National Offender Management Service has acted quickly and decisively throughout this issue, withdrawing contaminated and potentially contaminated supply lines, ceasing all deliveries from the affected supplier, providing alternative menu choices and working with the Agency's Muslim advisor to communicate to all Muslim chaplains to disseminate information to prisoners. Due to this positive approach, there have to date been no reported disturbances in prisons linked to this issue. In addition, there have been various engagements with Muslim media to clarify the contamination issue and reassure the community.
	All prisons have regularly tested contingency plans to deal with instances of concerted indiscipline and Governors can call on national resources as required.
	The Ministry of Justice is currently considering what financial redress it can seek. The MOJ is unaware of any product contamination outside of the Halal products supplied to prisons.

Probation

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice in the event of outsourcing of probation tasks, whether police and other criminal justice agencies will be given access to tagging and other related data kept by private companies who win probation contracts.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice is consulting on proposals to reform the way in which offenders are rehabilitated in the community, including opening up rehabilitation services to a more diverse range of providers who will be paid by results to reduce reoffending.
	Under our proposed reforms, providers of probation services will need to work in partnership with the police and other agencies to ensure local services are closely aligned. Prospective providers will have to evidence how they would sustain and develop local networks and partnerships such as existing Integrated Offender Management arrangements, and will be expected to contribute to local intelligence sharing as appropriate.
	Under current arrangements electronic monitoring data is managed by the private companies running the contracts and necessary data exchanges occur between agreed agencies, subject to data sharing protocols. This approach will not change as a result of the proposed reforms.
	We will announce further details of our proposals once we have considered the responses to the consultation, which closes on 22 February 2013.

Probation

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what incentives he will put in place for probation trusts to merge prior to the tendering-out of probation work.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice is consulting on proposals to reform the way in which offenders are rehabilitated in the community, including competing the majority of rehabilitative and punitive services in the community.
	We propose that the public sector will be reorganised in the most efficient manner to deliver its new responsibilities. This is likely to require fewer trusts or a different structure (such as a single national probation trust or direct delivery on behalf of the Secretary of State). Our consultation paper invites views on what kind of delivery structure would be most appropriate for the public sector probation service.
	While we will need to contract with entities capable of bearing the financial and operational risks associated with offender services in the community and the introduction of payment by results, it will also be open to those currently in the public sector to design prospective mutuals or develop appropriate partnerships with other organisations to bid to win contracts for competed services. The Cabinet Office (working with Ministry of Justice) will support leaders and staff in probation trusts to explore options and feasibility in advance of any competitions. The Cabinet Office is designing a package of support for those who wish to explore this option, including access to the Cabinet Office's £10 million Mutuals Support Programme.
	The consultation closes on 22 February 2013 and we will announce further details of our proposals once we have considered responses.

Roads: Accidents

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the operation of the criminal justice system to protect road users; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Wright: Parliament is responsible for ensuring that adequate offences and maximum penalties are available to the courts and we do keep this under review, for example, recently introducing a new offence of causing serious injury by dangerous driving in the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act which will carry a five year maximum prison sentence.
	It is for the courts to decide on the appropriate sentence for an offender and in doing so they will take into account all details of the offence, including any aggravating or mitigating circumstances and sentencing guidelines. Sentencing guidelines are produced by the independent Sentencing Council.

Biofuels

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will review the evidence on the effects on air quality as a result of the emissions from the combustion of biomass following the World Health Organisation's (a) advice to the EU to lower its limit values on particulate fractions, PM2.5 and PM10 and (b) its advice to member states published on 31 January 2013 to prioritise reducing emissions from solid and liquid fuels, including biomass.

Richard Benyon: The review by the World Health Organisation on the evidence relating to the effects of particulate matter fractions on health is welcomed and we look forward to reviewing the findings of the study when the final report is published. However, as the review relates to the effects of air pollutants on health, we do not expect it to comment on the effect of biomass combustion on air quality.
	DEFRA publishes annual assessments of the effect of current emission sources on concentrations of air pollutants. These can be viewed on the Department's UK-AIR webpages at:
	http://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/library/annualreport/index
	We also work closely with the Department for Energy and Climate Change to assess the air quality impacts of policy proposals that affect combustion of biomass.

Circuses: Licensing

Tom Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  if he will publish details of (a) all licensing inspections carried out in travelling circuses, (b) the licences granted and the licence conditions, (c) all licensed travelling circuses using wild animals, (d) details of all licensed animals within such circuses and (e) the tour schedules of each such circus; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  which travelling circuses wishing to use wild animals have been inspected under the new licensing regulations to date; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  how many licensing applications he has received from travelling circuses wishing to use wild animals in their act to date; how many animals of which species were listed in each such application; and if he will make a statement.

David Heath: The licensing conditions which apply to all licences are set out in the schedule of the Welfare of Wild Animals in Travelling Circuses (England) Regulations 2012.
	To date, two applications for a licence have been received by DEFRA. One inspection has taken place and a date for the other inspection has been booked. No licences have been issued so far.
	Information about the number and species of animals submitted with applications received to date is summarised in the following table.
	
		
			  Circus Mondao Jolly's Circus 
			 Ankole — 1 
			 Camel 2 1 
			 Fox — 1 
			 Raccoon — 1 
			 Reindeer 2 4 
			 Snakes — 6 
			 Zebra 2 1 
		
	
	Tour dates are regularly posted on travelling circuses' websites.

Pesticides

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the European Food Safety Authority's advice on neonicotinoids; and if he will make a statement.

David Heath: Since concerns were first raised on this important issue, DEFRA has been clear that we will act in accordance with the evidence. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) reports published on 16 January consider the risks to bees from these insecticides and conclude that more data is needed to update the current risk assessments. As the EFSA made clear in the reports, these assessments used existing data against new regulatory requirements which have yet to be finalised.As would normally be expected, the EFSA found that new data requirements were not met by data produced earlier. The reports do not state that these insecticides pose an unacceptable danger to bees, although this impression is given by the accompanying EFSA Press Release. It is also worth emphasising that the EFSA conclusions are not new scientific information but report a stage in the process of updating the developing new risk assessment and applying it to these three active substances.
	The Government has taken research on effects to bees seriously and we have not assumed that the existing controls are sufficient. The European Commission has now indicated that it will propose measures on the three neonicotinoids reviewed by the EFSA and it has held an initial discussion with member states. Our approach to any Commission proposal will continue to be founded in a proportionate response to the science and so we will seek clarity as to what the Commission are proposing, the basis for this and the likely impacts. Our response will take account of advice from the Advisory Committee on Pesticides, which considered the latest evidence on the risks to bees from neonicotinoid insecticides at its meeting on 29 January. They also received the EFSA conclusions.

Slaughterhouses: CCTV

Andrew Bingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects to make an announcement on the outcome of the consultation into the mandatory introduction of CCTV in slaughterhouses; and if he will make a statement.

David Heath: The Government's consultation on measures to implement EU Regulation 1099/2009 on the Protection of Animals at the Time of Killing closed on 24 October 2012. This consultation also sought comments on the proposal not to require compulsory installation of CCTV in slaughterhouses. The Government is currently considering the responses received. Once this process has been completed, a response will be published on the DEFRA website.